[2009] What actually causes ayu's sales to drop?

[waterballoon]

^ well I think she isn't 100% irrelevant to the public of course, like what you said Days for example was her recent hit that resonated well with the general public.

However, when you think about it... why did Kana Nishino's album sell over 600k? How did ABK48 & ARASHI sell like hotcakes?

Isn't it because they're relevant to the public in whatever ways; music, personality, style, etc that almost made it compelling for people to buy their stuff?

For Ayu's case.. she definitely had such a relevance back then from 2000-2002 I guess, but I had a feeling she started to slide from 2004, where she made the OMG statement about quitting avex if Max was gonna be fired.

THAT, to me, seemed like almost a scandal to the public, like "omg how could a woman make such a powerful statement!? it's not right!"... like what you love to say, Japan likes it when their female idol has no brains

so i think it was around that time where people feel that "ayumi hamasaki" isn't relevant to the public; like she couldn't represent the women well, for example.

[Andrenekoi]

But u can't forget the age factor... New artists always outsell old artists, just cuz they have teenagers as their fanbases...

[channy]

As for what Ayu means to me, I feel like sticking to the music of an artist is a thing of 'emotional loyality', too.

I do not like everything, she releases just becaus that music's brandname is "Ayumi Hamasaki". And I don't hesitate to express my opinion in such a case (for example I really disliked Rock'n'Roll Circus).

But still I feel Connected to her music, because her 'musical story' has been a part of the lives of many people around my age. It's like (just for example) your parents that still feel comfortable with ABBA or Paul McCartney while younger people usually don't mind these celebreties as much as their parents do.

Meaning of this, it might sound a bit exaggerated, but after 12 years, there are several new generations of listeners that were too young for pop music, when for us, Ayu has been the biggest thing on earth. So... Ayu were 'our' time, and nowadays other artists are the time of new generation of teenagers.

[Chibi-Chan]

^ I agree! (But I really loved Rock'n'Roll Circus XD)